Mia carries the torch after Susi is dethroned

Wed, 31 Jul 1996, 00:00 WIB | Source: REUTERS

ATLANTA, Georgia (Agencies): Susi Susanti of Indonesia, the
badminton gold medalist in Barcelona, crashed out of the Olympics
yesterday losing to her old nemesis Bang Soo-hyun of South Korea
in the semifinal 9-11, 8-11.

But Indonesia's miracle teenager Mia Audina picked up the
torch for Indonesia as she cruised to the final by beating
another South Korean, Kim Ji-hyun 11-6, 9-11, 11-1.

Susi, the number two seed, committed so many errors and never
really settled in the match which was a replay of the Barcelona
final. In contrast, Mia played an almost flawless match, and was
always in command with the exception for the second set.

To the sound of a mournful trumpet refrain and gospel singing,
Atlanta claimed back its Centennial Park early yesterday, three
days after a bomb blast that bloodied the Olympics.

But even as the Games recovered and got back on track with a
sparkling night of athletics, a new dope scandal cast yet another
cloud over the ill-starred Atlanta Olympics.

Jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis greeted thousands of people for
a brief but poignant opening ceremony at the park before Andrew
Young, a former aide of Martin Luther King, led a stirring
service for the two dead and 110 injured.

The emotional occasion followed a night of compelling track
and field drama in which Carl Lewis claimed a special place in
Olympic history and ensured the Atlanta Games would be remembered
for more than the bomb and their bungles.

But another setback hit the ill-starred sports extravaganza
even as the park reopened. Officials announced Russian swimmer
Nina Zhivanevskaya had been disqualified after failing a dope
test.

Zhivanevskaya, who finished eighth in the 200-meter backstroke
final last week, tested positive for the stimulant-cum-masking
agent bromantan. It was the fourth doping case reported at the
Games and the third involving Russians.

Lewis leapt to a special place in Olympic history and fellow
American Michael Johnson cruised to 400-meter gold on Monday as
sports fans put a nightmare bomb blast behind them and enjoyed a
vintage night of athletics.

Lewis, 35, soared 8.50 meters to clinch the long jump title
and equal two monumental Olympic records -- winning a fourth
consecutive title in the same athletics event and a ninth gold in
any sport.

Johnson, running in gold shoes, set up a unique track double
when he raced home unchallenged to win the one-lap race in an
Olympic record time of 43.49 seconds. He is hot favorite to add
the 200m gold on Thursday.

Lewis joins discus thrower Al Oerter, also from the United
States, as the only track and field athlete to win gold at four
successive Games.

He also matched Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi's record of nine
Olympic golds.

On a golden night for the host nation, American Allen Johnson
won the 110m hurdles in 12.95 seconds, also an Olympic record.

France's Marie-Jo Perec ran the third fastest women's 400m
ever to retain her Olympic title. The Guadeloupe-born runner
clocked 48.25 seconds, yet another Olympic record.

Russia's Svetlana Masterkova sprang a surprise when she
claimed the 800 metres, relegating pre-face favorites Ana Fidelia
Quirot of Cuba and Mozambique's Maria Mutola to second and third
respectively.

On the tennis court, Yugoslav-born American Monica Seles saw
her Olympic dream shattered as three of the top four seeds went
out at the quarterfinal stage. Seles went down in three sets to
Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic.